Two Sides of the Same Coin
by NekoxUchiha
Summary: New place, the same old story, right? That's what Lucy thought, after moving yet again, together with her short tempered aunt, and cynical 'uncle'. Coming from a troubled background, Lucy never looked for friends, or let anyone in. However, when in her new college she meets a pink haired guy and a fiery red head, everything she has ever believed in is rewritten. NaLu and other.
1. Prologue

Read this! Its IMPORTANT!:

**A/N:** Here I am, with another story for you lovely people. If any of you reading this have also read My Pink Haired Bastard of a Neighbour, then I want to say thank you, for all the extraordinary, nice reviews, 100+ favourites and 80+ follows. You guys made my heart swell. I greatly appreciate the 15 or so minutes you took out of your life to read, and maybe review my story. You rock.

I want to warn you, this fic will be quite dark. Also, this is just a prologue/teaser, so unfortunately there is gonna be a month or so until the next update.

This story is very different from anything I've written before. I'm actually quite scared of putting this up here ::sweatdrop::. However, if you want to read something light, funny and romantic, I recommend you the afore-mentioned fanfic: My Pink Haired Bastard of a Neighbour.(I know..shameless self advertising...)

_**WARNING**_(for the entire story): Bad language, violence/abuse, mentions of rape, VERY OOC Lucy and possibly other characters, some of my own OC's...and well, this is all I can think of at the moment. As you can see, this is not a story for children, the M rating is there for a reason.

For the people who are still here...::sweatdrop::...please enjoy?

P.S: Forgive me for the long A/N...

Enjoy!

* * *

Sitting down on her bed, Lucy looked around her dark new bedroom, cardboard boxes filled with her possessions laying scattered on the floor. She wondered how much they will stay in this place, and how bad the new college will be. She just hoped the psychology course would at least be decent. The only thing she found bad about moving, was leaving her previous college behind, which has been quite good. Sitting up, she brushed her black skinny jeans and straightened her baggy dark blue shirt. Before she could do anything, she heard her aunt yelling from downstairs:

"Lucy, get down here and help me unpack!"

The blonde sighed, never having talked with her aunt unless necessary. Trudging down the stairs, she walked into the kitchen, making her way in between the many boxes and unplaced furniture.

"Yes?" She questioned in a monotonous voice, her face devoid of emotions as usual.

"Would you be a dear and help me unpack all the plates,mugs and glasses?" Asked her aunt, small mouth smiling, brown eyes sparkling and dirty blonde hair swishing around her.

"Sure." The blonde shrugged in a noncommittal manner.

Bending down towards the nearest box, Lucy didn't realise her aunt's boyfriend walked in until he stood beside her.

"I see she's helping. It's surprising, as she only comes out of her room every blue moon." The lanky, balding guy sneered. Lucy ignored him, wondering for how long this state of peace would last, and when he would start arguing with her aunt again.

"Now, now Richard. Leave her alone." Reprimanded Angela, her eyes briefly darting towards the young blonde who was placing cups and glasses in the cupboards around the kitchen.

If anyone took a look at this specific family, they wouldn't find anything weird...apart maybe, from a slightly angsty teenager and snarky uncle. But things are never what they appear to be. Seriously, this must be the best day they had this year, and considering that they were in late August, it said a lot.

Angela was too excited with the moving to be her usual short tempered self, and Richard was too busy to watch over Lucy like a hawk.

After having finished helping her aunt, Lucy headed up the stairs. Halfway up, she heard Angela shout:

"Don't you wanna have some tea with us?" Lucy turned around, sighting and hating all this nice behaviour from her aunt. Frankly, it put her even more on edge than usual, expecting the short tempered woman to snap at any time, and possibly hurl a sharp object at her head.

"I'm fine, thanks." Replied Lucy in a dead tone, while in her mind, she added: 'I'd rather jump in a pit of snakes.'

Entering her room, she looked around for a specific box. When she found it, she opened it and took out her much needed calendar. Much needed because she crossed out every single day that took her closer to when she would be 21, and would inherit what her parents left her. Then, she could finally move. She couldn't wait to get out of this shithole, never looking back. That would be in about a year, seeing as she became 20 the previous month.

The timing was perfect really, cause by then she would be done with college, this being her last year. And yes, she was that desperate to get out of the living hell that was her aunt and Richard. 'Well, I might as well unpack.' sighed Lucy, sticking the calendar above her bed, and glancing at the cardboard boxes.

* * *

One hour later, Lucy looked around at the now more familiar looking room, wiping some sweat off her brow. Taking so many books that they occupied one entire wall, and placing them on their respective shelves, was quite strenuous for the slender young woman. The only thing she needed to do now, was to put her posters up on the walls. Well, she could do that later, she was too tired now. Flopping backwards on her bed, she gazed at the freshly painted pristine ceiling, greatly contrasting with the dull, dark grey walls.

She had everything prepared for college, books and whatnot already bought. There wasn't really much she could wonder or think about, as her life was pretty simple. She didn't have friends, as people tended to ask too many questions. Boyfriend? Pffft. What's that? The only good thing about males was that they were less curious, bitchy and talkative than the girls. Otherwise, she found them noisy, and frankly, pretty dumb and childish. And she was supposed to be the blonde here... Snorting, Lucy got up and glanced at the digital clock she's just placed on her desk. 17:59 'Oh, its time I guess...' As the 17 turned into 18 and the minutes into 0's...

"Luuucyyyy! Dinner time!"

Covering her ears at the shrill voice, she walked towards the door, yanked it opened and yelled:

"Need to wash my hands first!" Damn. Why was she yelling again? Ah yes. Her dear aunt was hard of hearing. Rolling her eyes, Lucy closed her door and then walked down the hallway towards the bathroom.

As she turned the faucet on and started rubbing her hands with the soap making tiny bubbles, her dark blue sleeve rode up her wrist and up her arm, showing the beginning of a nasty, yellowish fading bruise. As soon as Lucy spotted it, her eyes widened. She tugged the sleeve down, stretching the material and wetting it from her dripping hands. The blonde shook her head and leaned against the basin. It wouldn't do if her aunt saw that bruise...or any others for that matter. She knew the short tempered woman didn't like seeing them.

After washing her hands, Lucy once again trudged down the stairs and into the kitchen which had considerably less boxes scattered around. The furniture also seemed to have found its place, the oval shaped table set for dinner. Walking from behind the kitchen island, Angela brought a big bowl of salad. On the table, there were already three plates, with glasses, cartons of juice and a bowl of grilled chicken in the middle. Her aunt gave her a small smile, while Richard didn't even glance up from behind the magazine he was reading. Something about sports. Tch. Typical male. Sitting down in the chair beside her aunt's, she tried to make as much space as possible between them without getting too close to Richard. Angela noticed this, but said nothing, instead pulling her chair out and sitting down as well.

"Well then, enjoy your meal. I hope you like this." Angela clapped her hands together, after which she put herself some salad. Lucy ignored her in favour of pretending to be very interested in the chicken, while actually making sure her sleeve didn't ride up again. Richard finally put his magazine down and said:

"Well, you didn't burn the kitchen down, so the food can't be more charred than usual, eh?" He remarked, a cruel smirk on his pale face. Angela gave a strained smile and glared down at the table, refraining from commenting on the fact that salad can't be burned. Lucy glanced up at them, apprehension building in her stomach, waiting for her aunt's outburst. When it didn't come, she was slightly surprised, but continued eating, though on edge. 'Maybe we can have a normal meal without them yelling at each other?'

By the time dessert came around, Richard finally decided to be the bastard he usually was to Lucy. He knew she didn't really like talking with them, so that's why, when he had the chance, he would try goading words out of the young blonde. And she hated him for it.

"Say Lu, how excited are you about the new college?"

'As excited as your bald head is.' She thought, but instead just shrugged.

"Hm? What's that supposed to mean?" Asked Richard, raising an eyebrow. Despite Lucy tightening her hold around her fork, the jerk continued:

"You know, you have that tongue of yours for a reason." He leaned in, as if conspiring. "For talking." He whispered, as if sharing a valuable piece of information. Lucy gritted her teeth, while Angela looked between the two nervously.

Smirking, he leaned back in his chair. "So please do use it, if its not too much of an effort." He mocked, crossing his arms over his chest.  
Lucy felt rage boiling inside her stomach, every cell of her body hating the man currently sitting in front of her. Oh, but how she would love to smash one of the dishes in his big, slightly crooked nose. Instead, she clenched her hands under the table, feeling her blunt nails piercing though her soft skin. She gave Richard a sickly sweet smile and said:

"Why uncle." She practically spat the last word. "I do know how to use my tongue. But unlike...certain...people, I also like to make use of my brain and think about something before I say it." With that, she calmly set her fork and knife on her plate, pushed her chair back and stood up. While Richard glared as the implications of her words hit him, she continued:

"Thank you for the nice and not charred dinner." She glared at him, while sparing her aunt a glance. "Now, if you will excuse me, I'm going to finish unpacking." Stiffly, she pushed the chair in, took her plate and washed it in the sink, after which she walked out of the kitchen. Richard glared at her the whole time, while Angela threw him a dirty look.

"I don't know why you have to make her life so miserable."

"Excuse me? How dare you even open your mouth after all you've done to her, you hypocrite?" He spat. Angela's brown eyes widened at the accusation, but looked away from him.

* * *

Up in her room, Lucy grumbled under her breath while looking for her pyjamas.

"Stupid, bald, bastard with his snotty attitude and jerk attitude. Who the hell does he think he is?" Finally, when she found her pyjamas after some more cursing, she sighed. 'There's no point in getting angry over him. He's not worth it.' Sitting down on the edge of her bed, she raised her arms up taking her shirt off, flinching during the whole process. If front of her, sitting innocently against the wall, her full body mirror showed everything to her sad eyes. Running up her arms starting from the wrists, were many long, quite thin purple and yellowish bruises. She knew that if she turned around, her back was even worse, but she didn't, instead putting her pyjamas on as quickly as possibly in her current state and going to the bathroom to brush her teeth.

It was too early too sleep, the clock showing the time of 19:09. However, she was tired, and knew that if she didn't go sleep now, her aunt might try talking to her. Taking a book from the shelves, she snuggled under her blankets, liking the feel of the soft bed against her battered body. She hoped that the college would be decent, and that the people would leave her alone.

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A/N: Oh God, I'm so scared of your reactions... x_x Nonetheless, I would love your reviews, telling me if I should continue this or not. Also, yes, this will be a NaLu story, but for the moment, I needed you to know some of her story. There will be other pairings as well, so, for the hopeless romantics, do not despair! Remember, the next update will be in a month or so. Thanks for reading!


	2. Crazy College

**A/N:** Hey guys, this is the first chapter. Sorry I couldn't get this out earlier, but I have been very busy. Also, I realise this chapter is quite short, but it's better than nothing, right?

**Disclaimer:** Me not own the characters. Capiche?

**Warnings:** The same as in the prologue. Very short chapter. Not beta-ed. Sorry for any mistakes.

**_Enjoy!_**

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Looking out the window as buildings and pedestrians passed by, Lucy stifled a yawn. She really didn't know why she felt so tired, but it wouldn't do if she fell asleep in lesson on her first day. Richard was driving, his back hunched over and small eyes glaring at the traffic around him. Lucy hadn't planned on letting him drive her to college, but she didn't really have a choice after her aunt gave her a warning look. She guessed he was just trying to tick her off...as usual. She could swear the guy was a sadist.

As the car slowed down, Lucy looked around and saw the black gates of Fiore College standing proudly in front of her. After he parked, the blonde got her bag and opened the door, nodding some sort of thanks to Richard. He just smirked back and said:

"Have a good day. And don't scowl so much. People might think...I dunno, that you don't like them?" A cruel glint shone in his eyes, and she just decided to ignore him. She didn't want to start her day off the wrong foot. Slamming the door and not looking back, Lucy walked towards the college, entering the big gates. In front of her, against the blue,crisp, autumn sky, stood a pale green and white building, larger in comparison to her old college. Glancing around her, Lucy already started feeling nervous, becoming aware of the eyes that strayed her way.

Students were hanging around the big grounds that surrounded the college, chatting with friends and catching up on their summer activities. Lucy glanced down at her dark faded jeans, and tried to not fumble with the fabric. She hated big crowds, because she knew, as every single person glanced at her, they picked at how she looked, what she wore and how she behaved. Then, they would judge her by that. She hated it. She hated them for doing this, for thinking they were better, for thinking they had the right to do that. They didn't know her, and if they were so sure they could pick out what kind of person she was just by the way she looked...well, who was she to correct them? Leaving them in their own ignorance really appealed to Lucy.

As she walked up the stairs, she took a peek around her, and saw some leering boys looking at her, clearly running their eyes the length of her body. The blonde scowled, and decided to just look forward, at the nearing entrance. Stuck outside on the door, was a sign, pointing towards her right, in bold black writing: RECEPTION. Walking inside, she followed the sign, taking a right and going down a small hallway that was pretty deserted. At the end of it, was a door. Presuming that this was the reception, Lucy stepped forward and knocked on the hard oak. A gruff voice instructed her to enter.

Walking in, Lucy raised her head to look up, and froze, one foot inside the room, her hand still on the handle. Turning her head from one side to another, her mouth slowly hanged open as she drank in the sight before her. The room...was not what she would call a room. It was huge. On one side of it, was a big desk, with mounds of papers stacked on top of each other, a white haired young woman working diligently and typing away on her computer. In the middle of the massive room was another desk at which sat a blue haired woman, currently talking with an old, white haired, short man who stood before her desk. On the other side of the room, were two brown leather couches, with a coffee table in the middle, a TV in the front, a water dispenser in a corner and a vending machine close to the door Lucy just entered. For how spacious this entire room was, only three people were inside.

As someone cleared their throat, Lucy came out of her stupor and looked for the source of the sound, her eyes finally landing on the short old man.

"Hello, how can we help you?" He asked, fully turning towards her. Lucy closed the door behind her and looked down at the old man, wondering who he was.

"Um, I'm a new student. I came here to pick up my schedule?" The old man frowned, and looked at her quizzically.

"All new students were supposed to come here two days ago so they could be shown around and have their schedule given. I gather you didn't come?"

"Oh." Lucy looked confused." I'm sorry, but I never heard about it. My aunt just told me I got accepted; she didn't tell me anything else."

The old man nodded thoughtfully:  
"Mmmm, I see. Well then, I guess all we can do no-"

He didn't get to finish his sentence as he was interrupted by the door banging open,subsequently hitting Lucy. She jumped up and away, hissing in pain, as her bruised back came in contact with the dark, oak door.

Looking back at the door and glaring at the idiots who just busted in, she almost cowered in fear at the menacing aura that sent a powerful killing intent in a mile radius. Her ears were also being abused with a shrill, high voice:

"Let me gooooo! It wasn't me! I'm telling you! It was Gray! Why don't you ever believe me?!I'm always the one blamed. It isn't faaaaair." The voice whined towards the end.

Now standing in the doorway, was a busty, tall, red haired young woman, a tuft of pink peeking from under her arm that seemed to hold the unlucky chap into a head lock. The scary woman was wearing a white v-neck t-shirt, that didn't manage to hide away her voluptuous curves. The emerald green of her skirt matched her scarlet, bright hair perfectly. The two women at the desk jumped at the sudden commotion, but sighed and rolled their eyes as they saw who it was, going back to their work. Lucy briefly wondered if this happened regularly.

Hearing an annoyed growl from behind her, she turned to see the short man glaring at the two. Lucy took a step back, preparing for some kind of display of anger. Looking down at him, the red haired woman opened her mouth to say something, but clicked it shut as laughter roared in the spacious office.

"Makarov...sir." She growled as an after thought.

The man whose name was Makarov, Lucy presumed, looked up at her with eyes that sparkled with unshed tears, his laughter slowly stopping. The blue haired woman once again rolled her eyes, while the white haired one giggled.

"I'm sorry Erza, but every time you come here, I look towards the new ways of handling Natsu that you come up with."He chuckled. "Though, I don't look towards the reasons for these visits." His eyes hardened, humor now gone. " What did Natsu do now?"

Erza shook her head and sighed, releasing the head lock she had on the poor guy and nudging him towards. The pinkette jumped away and glared back at her.

"According to him-"

"The truth is.." Natsu interrupted her.

"As I said. According to him, Gray just out of the blue attacked him-"

"The ice block did!"

Erza glared at Natsu, and the boy took a few steps back. Makarov patiently waited for Erza's explanation, while Lucy could only watch transfixed.

"And as the fight got worse, Gray presumably took a chair and threw it at Natsu, which actually shattered through the window. Also, this happened on the second floor." Makarov's eyes widened at the implication. "But luckily," Erza continued. "No one was hurt." Makarov was about to say something, but the red head continued."The funny thing here is, that all the witnesses say it was Natsu who flung the chair at Gray." She glared at the pinkette.

Trembling, Natsu stammered out:

"B-but it was Gray!"

"Natsu..." Makarov growled in warning.

Sighing, eyes cast down, Natsu said: " Fineee..it was me...but the bastard threw a pen at me! Do you know how sharp those things are?" He asked, indignant.

"And that was reason enough to throw a chair at him, which not only was it dangerous for Gray, but shattered a window, and could've hit someone outside." The laughing Makarov was gone, replaced with a serious, and slightly disappointed aging man.

Natsu glared defiantly to the side, refusing to say anything or look at anyone in the room.

Makarov sighed. "Thank you Erza, once again for keeping an eye on him. Now, please go and wait outside, while I finish this." He glanced up at Lucy while saying this.

"It's no problem sir, just doing my job." The red head nodded, took a hold of Natsu's collar and dragged him out, closing the door behind them.

As silence engulfed the office, the only sound being the keyboard tapping of the woman behind the desk, Lucy took a peek at Makarov who seemed to be in deep thought.

After a few awkward minutes, Lucy cleared her throat. Coming out of his trance, he looked around and up at Lucy.

"Ah, right. New student. Schedule." Makarov mused as he walked towards the desk with the white haired woman behind it.

"Mirajane, could you please give...erm..excuse me. What's your name?" Makarov inquired, looking at the blonde.

"Lucy Heartefilia, sir." She answered.

"Right. Get her schedule please." He instructed Mirajane.

The beautiful woman nodded and opened a drawer.

"I'll be right back." Makarov told Lucy, after which he walked out of the door.

Left in the silent room, with the typing and shuffling of papers as the only noise, Lucy looked around her.

"Ah, here it is." Mirajane smiled, as she took out a piece of paper from the drawer, handing it to Lucy.

"Thank you."

"I hope you will like it here. My name is Mirajane, and that is Juvia." The white head said, as she titled her head towards the blue haired woman who gave a curt nod to Lucy.

Lucy gave a small smile.

Glancing down at her schedule, she suddenly looked up as she heard the door open, Makarov walking in, followed by Natsu and Erza.

"So, I see you got your schedule. Well, as you were not here for the induction day, I decided that Natsu and Erza will be your guides." He smiled, cheerily. On the other hand, Erza's brow furrowed, and Natsu's mouth hung open.

"With all respect sir, I would love to show her around..but..Natsu? On the first day? I think she's already got enough of him." Erza glanced at Natsu, who's squawk resonated through the office.

"What?! Why me?" After a few seconds..."Erza! What the hell do you mean by THAT?" He glared.

"Natsu, language. And take it as your punishment, if you would hate doing that so much, though I believe Lucy here is a lovely young lady."

"But-"

"No buts, Natsu. My decision is final. Or would you rather have Erza here escort you everywhere? For a month?" Natsu gulped. In a flash, Natsu's arm was around Lucy, as if they were best friends.

"Sooo...Lucy is your name, eh?" He grinned. The blonde's eyes widened, stiffening up at the contact. Erza shook her head in disbelief.

"Natsu, Lucy, let's go."

"Have a nice day Lucy. If you have any problems, just come here. Though I'm certain Erza can help you with whatever it is..." Makarov laughed nervously.

"Hmph." The red head responded, walking out the door, Lucy being dragged along by Natsu.

As the door closed behind them, the typing and shuffling stopped. Sensing two sets of eyes staring through his skull, Makarov turned towards his two secretaries.

"What?" He asked nonchalantly.

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**A/N**: Review? Pretty please? It gives a lot of motivation and confidence to me. Thanks for reading.


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